UPDATED: Keene firefighters battle two blazes eight hours apart

KEENE – Firefighters responded to two multi-alarm fires Sunday and Monday. No one was injured in either fire, but combined damages total $130,000, a Keene Fire Department spokesman said.

Firefighters were dispatched to a first-alarm barn fire Sunday at 10:10 p.m. at 864 Marlboro Road. The building is owned by Jay McIntyre.

When Capt. Mike Burke arrived, he reported a well involved garage fire. Ten minutes later the fire had spread to the house, and the call was bumped up to a second-alarm.The fire was under control by 11:08 p.m., but the garage was a total loss. Damage to the house was primarily to the outside of the single-family home. Total damage between the garage and house is estimated at $30,000, according to a fire department spokesman.

The Fire Investigation Unit determined the cause of the fire to be combustibles stored too close in proximity to an operating wood stove. Keene police, Diluzio Ambulance, Marlborough, Swanzey, Chesterfield, Sullivan, Westmoreland and Brattleboro, Vt., fire departments assisted at the scene. Units from Spofford, Swanzey, Harrisville and Troy fire departments covered the two Keene stations during the incident.

Monday at 6:17 a.m. firefighters responded to a first-alarm porch fire at 50-52 Grove St. That building is owned by Meaghan Cook of Keene.

The residential duplex was occupied at the time of the fire.

Fire Capt. Mike Burke requested a second alarm before arriving on scene because of reports that the rear porch area was well involved.

Burke arrived to find heavy fire on the rear porches with fire extending on floors one and two in the rear of the house. Within 15 minutes, the fire was bumped up to a three-alarm fire as crews were fighting the fire on both floors and the attic area of the duplex.

The fire was under control at 6:17 a.m. The structure suffered damage on both sides of the duplex and a vehicle in the driveway suffered damage from the heat before it could be moved. Damage to the property is estimated at $100,000.

"The probable cause of the fire has been determined by the Keene Fire Department Fire Investigation Unit to be an electrical malfunction with an operating refrigerator on the back deck," a Keene Fire Department release indicated.